Blogs

Web Shows

Resources

Babies at risk: 16 worst places for premature birth

It's no secret that premature babies face all sorts of health problems, such as trouble breathing and anemia. But the March of Dimes says the number of babies being born prematurely is falling in the U.S. Its 2011 "report card" on preterm birth suggests that - thanks in part to lower rates of unnecessary C-sections and birth inductions - 40,000 more American babies got a healthy start in life between 2006 and 2009.

But not all states received good grades for keeping their rates of premature births down. Vermont was the only state to earn an A - 16 got a B, and 19 a C. Who earned Ds and Fs? Keep clicking to find out...

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

15. West Virginia

West Virginia kicks off the list of failing and near-failing states on the premature birth report card. The state received a D grade - 12.9 percent of births in the state are premature.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

14. North Carolina

Rate of premature births: 13.0 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

13. Tennessee

Rate of premature births: 13.0 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

12. Arkansas

Rate of premature births: 13.1 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

11. Texas

Rate of premature births: 13.1 percent

Grade: D

Credit: CBS

10. Florida

Rate of premature births: 13.5 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

9. Kentucky

Rate of premature births: 13.6 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

8. Georgia

Rate of premature births: 13.8 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

7. Nevada

Rate of premature births: 13.8 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

6. Oklahoma

Rate of premature births: 13.8 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

5. Washington, D.C.

Rate of premature births: 14.2 percent

Grade: D

Credit: istockphoto

4. South Carolina

Rate of premature births: 14.5 percent

Grade: D

Credit: Flickr/Paul Hamilton

3. Louisiana

Rate of premature births: 14.7 percent

Grade: F

2. Alabama

Rate of premature births: 15.6 percent

Grade: F

Credit: istockphoto

1. Mississippi

Mississippi flunked the March of Dimes test: a whopping 18 percent of babies born in the state are born prematurely.